Mail stacker



Aug. 18, 1964 F. H. coYNE, JR

MAIL STACKER Filed Aug. 22, 1962 ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,144,985 MAIL STACKER Francis H. Coyne, Jr., 213 Roger Williams Ave., East Providence, RJ. Filed Aug. 22, 1962, Ser. No. 218,621 7 Claims. (Cl. 2112-24) This invention relates to a mailbox which will have an appearance similar to mailboxes which are now in use.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a mailbox which will be so arranged that if used in its intended manner will assist the assorting of mail for its distribution.

Another object of this invention is to provide a mailbox which will have a plurality of dilerent bins or compartments into which different types of mail or mail for different classications may be placed by the patron of the mail service so as to enable the mail room at the Post Oice to more easily and quickly cancel and sort the mail which is deposited.

Another object of the invention is to cause a letter which is deposited in the mailbox with the address face up to remain in this position as it settles into its nal resting place in the box, thus enabling quicker cancellations and less turning of the mail for this purpose.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and practical box which may be easily operated by the user and also easily operated by the collector of the mails.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the mailbox of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation thereof;

FIG. 3 is a central sectional View; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional View on line 4--4 of FIG. 3.

In proceeding with this invention, I have provided a mailbox which is divided into bins for different characteristics of the mail such, for instance, as the following ve: (l) out-of-town shorts, (2) out-of-town longs, (3) airmail, special delivery and post cards, (4) local shorts and (5) local longs, with a slot leading into each of these bins and with a further compartment for the reception of parcels which will not pass through the slots such as are commonly referred to as flats or bundles or small packages. Appropriate labels or markings appear on slots or openings to each of these bins or compartments for instruction of the public in depositing the mail in order to obtain their cooperation. Other convenient features are also provided in connection with the arrangement of the mailbox.

With reference to the drawings, the mailbox provides a container designated generally 9 which will have a plurality of walls in generally rectangular relation. Thus,

" there is a top Wall 1t) and a bottom wall 11, side walls 12 and 13, a front wall 14 and a back wall 15. These walls are generally in fixed relation although the back wall 15 is provided with a door section 16 hinged as at 17 which may be swung open outwardly as shown at 16' in FIG. 3 so as to provide access to the enclosed container.

I have divided the front lower part of the container into a plurality of bins 1S, 19, 20, 21 and 22 by the provision of dividing partitions 23, 24, 25 and 26 which extend from the front wall 14 rearwardly a part of the distance toward the back wall 15, and these partitions are closed at their rear ends by a back partition or second wall 27 which is hinged to the side walls 12 and 13 as at Z8 and 29 so as to permit this back partition to swing about this pivot from the position shown in full lines in FIG. 3 to the position shown in dotted lines and designated 27 in FIG. 3,

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thus alfording access to these bins when the door 16 is opened and the back partition 27 is swung to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 3.

In order that letters may be deposited in each of these bins, there is a slot registering with each of the bins as shown at 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34 as seen in FIG. 2 in dotted lines and in FIG. 4. These slots are in the front wall 14 and at a location close to the inclined top edge 35 of the partition walls. A tubular guide 36 is also located to register with each of these slots and is inclined downwardly such as may be best seen in FIG. 3. The guide extends part way toward the back partition 27 and on to an extent suiciently so that when a letter is passed through a slot such as 32, it will slide along this inclined tubular guide 36 and by its movement and momentum will normally hit the back partition 27. However, at the location where such letter would hit such back partition, I have provided a pad 37 which will be of resilient rubber or synthetic rubber material so that as the letter hits this pad, it will re-bound from the paid and then settle to the bottom of the bin with the same face up that was up when the letter was passed through the slot 32 and down the inclined guide 36. This pad 37 is arranged so that it will have a plurality of generally flat surfaces 38, 39, and 40 each of which will extend at substantially right angles to the direction of movement of the letter through the guide 36 so that the letter will be directed generally upwardly along a path parallel to that at which it moves into engagement with this pad. After this engagement with the pad, the letter settles into the bin in which it is deposited with the same face up as the face that was up when it passed through the slot.

In order that the mail deposited in the dierent bins may be quickly removed from the mailbox, the plurality of bins may be removed as a unit by dividing the partitions 23 to 26 into two parts such as 25 and 25l as seen in FIG. 3 and providing a bottom 65 extending the width of the container across all of the bins and with front and rear walls 66 and 67 similarly extending. Thus, there will be a removable unit formed in the lower half of the bins which may be interchanged with an empty removable unit in the collection of the mail from the container.

In order to keep rain or snow out of the slots 30 to 34 inclusive, a cover 41 is provided hinged as at 42 so as to cover the outer surface of the front wall 14 at the location of the slots 30 to 34. Also a shield 43 will assist in preventing any rain or snow from entering the top edge of this cover. In order for the depositor of mail to remove this cover, a lever 44 is provided hinged as at 45 beneath the container 9, and a rod link 46 connects this lever with the cover 41 so that as it is pressed downwardly by pressure of the foot as at 47, this cover will open. A spring 48 will return the lever and cover when pressure of the foot is released.

The location of the back partition 27 also provides back of the bins 18 to 22 a compartment 50 which may be utilized for the deposit of packages, Hats and the like which will not pass through the slots 30 to 34. Access to this compartment is through an opening 51 in the front wall 14, and an L-shaped conveyor 52 is pivoted as at 53 and provided with a shelf 54 and upstanding guard 55 with handle 56 so that when the handle 56 is grasped to swing the conveyor forwardly as shown in dotted lines at 52', a package may be placed in this conveyor, and then when released, the conveyor will swing back to the position shown in full lines in FIG. 3 and against the stop 57 and the package will slide along the shelf 54 into the compartment 50. The xed guard 58 is located so that a person cannot reach into the box when the conveyor is swung to a position intermediate the full and dotted line positions shown in FIG. 3.

rasees A rack 68 for holding narrow paper bands is located just inside the opening. 51, and these bands are accessible when the conveyor is open as shown at 52 in FIG. 3 to be used for bundling together articles of mail in some instances.

Leveling feet 60 threaded as at 61 may be provided for each of the legs 62 in order that the box may be positioned on some surface which is not perfectly flat. A fence 63 may be provided about the top Wall so that even though the top wall is slightly inclined for shedding of rain, packages may be retained thereon within the fence and upon the top wall to free the hands for use in depositing mail in thecontainer.

1. Amailbox comprising a container'having top and bottom walls,-side Walls and front and rear walls'providing an enclosure, spaced dividing partitions extending from the front wall toward the back wall a portion of the distance between them, a back partition extending across the end of said dividing partitions, providing a plurality of opentop-bins extending from the front wall a part of the'way toward the back wall and "a compartment between'such partition and the back wall, slots in the front wall, one communicating with each of said bins, and access means through the front wall to said compartment, means for movably mountingsaid back partition relative to said dividing partitions for opening to the rear of the bins vfor removing letters therefrom, said back-wall having as a part thereof a door section movable for access to said compartment 'and to said bins when said back partition is open.

2. A mailbox'as in claim 1 wherein said back partition is pivotally mounted ori-said sidewalls and said door section is pivotally mounted in said back wall.

3. A mailbox comprising a container having a front wall with a slot therein, means providing a bin in said container registering with said slot and having a second wall spaced from the front wall, means directing articles passed through said slot to said second wall, and a resilient pad on said second wall having an abutment surface at a location to be engaged by an article passed through said slot and at such an angle as to arrest an article and cause it to bound therefrom and settle by gravity to the bottom of the bin.

4. A mailbox as in claim 3 wherein said pad presents a saw tooth like surface with one of the faces of the saw teeth presenting said abutment surface whereby the letters maintain the same facingas when deposited through said slot.4

5. A mailbox as in claim 3 wherein said pad presents a face in a plane generally at right angles to a line from the face of the pad to said slot.

6. A mailbox as in claim 3 wherein a guide extends from said slot at an incline to said front wall toward said pad.

7. A mailbox as in claim 3 wherein a guide extends from said slot at an incline to said front Wall toward said pad and said pad presents 'a face at generally right angles to said guide at a distance fromthe guide greater than the length of said article.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 69,800' Green Oct. l5, 1867 463,264 Adler Nov. 17, 1891` 969,948 Gleason Sept. 13, 1910 l1,445,658 Biffle Feb. 20, 1923 

3. A MAILBOX COMPRISING A CONTAINER HAVING A FRONT WALL WITH A SLOT THEREIN, MEANS PROVIDING A BIN IN SAID CONTAINER REGISTERING WITH SAID SLOT AND HAVING A SECOND WALL SPACED FROM THE FRONT WALL, MEANS DIRECTING ARTICLES PASSED THROUGH SAID SLOT TO SAID SECOND WALL, AND A RESILIENT PAD ON SAID SECOND WALL HAVING AN ABUTMENT SURFACE AT A LOCATION TO BE ENGAGED BY AN ARTICLE PASSED THROUGH SAID SLOT AND AT SUCH AN ANGLE AS TO ARREST AN ARTICLE AND CAUSE IT TO BOUND THEREFROM AND SETTLE BY GRAVITY TO THE BOTTOM OF THE BIN. 